Arcturus Covid variant latest: True origins ‘may never be revealed’ as new cases soar in India

We may never know the true origins of Covid-19, said a Chinese doctor who has helped lead the country’s pandemic response.

dr George Fu Gao tells The Telegraph He is “not optimistic” that the origin of the virus will ever be known.

“It’s too delicate; too politicized,” he said, adding, “We need to focus on the science.”

dr Goa addressed the Rhodes Policy Summit on pandemic preparedness in London on Friday, which was also attended by former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

the dr was head of the China Center for Disease Control when the Covid-19 virus first emerged in 2019.

He added: “There is no evidence of which animals… the virus came from [from]“.

Without more concerted efforts to work together and invest in pandemic preparedness, we’ll be lying in wait for the next virus.

Europe would be caught off guard if the new Arcturus Covid variant proved deadly as testing has been scaled back, data shows.

Data analyzed by The Independent shows that many countries have significantly scaled back their Covid testing, meaning many would be unprepared if the world was hit by another deadly Covid strain.

The latest testing data, recorded by analysts at Oxford University’s Our World in Data project, shows that testing levels have fallen, including in Europe, where testing has fallen to negligible levels.

Tests fell from 613 daily tests per 1,000 people in Europe in early 2022 to negligible levels in July of the same year.

Without testing, our understanding of Covid and its transmission is limited. Testing has given policymakers insight into the spread of the virus and allowed countries to take measures to curb that spread, such as: B. isolating those infected and tracing their contacts.

If a deadly new variant of Covid were to strike, high levels of testing would allow countries to make more targeted public health interventions rather than enact another costly, full-scale lockdown.

This was announced by the virologist Professor Lawrence Young from the University of Warwick The Independent that the rise of the new variant in India is a sign that “we’re not over the hill yet”.

“We have to keep an eye on that,” he said. “When a new variant emerges, do you have to find out if it’s more contagious, more disease-causing, more pathogenic?

“Things like this underscore the importance of genomic surveillance, but many countries, including our own, have lowered our vigilance a bit, and we can’t be sure what variants exist and what level of infection they’re causing until we see a significant outbreak.”

The caseload is about six percent below yesterday’s figure of 10,747 infections, while 11,109 new Covid infections were registered on Friday, the biggest increase in almost a year.

India’s active caseload hit 57,542 on Sunday while 23 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the death rate to 1.19 percent, according to the health ministry.

An experimental drug could significantly reduce fatigue in long Covid patients, according to a new study.

Scientists think the drug, called AXA1125, could increase energy production in cells and reduce inflammation in people with the virus.

The small clinical study involving 41 patients was conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford.

The scientists involved in the study are now calling for larger studies to confirm the results.

Participants received either the drug AXA1125 or a sham placebo treatment twice a day for four weeks.

The results, published in the Lancet eClinical Medicin, showed that those who received the drug reported significantly improved fatigue.

Those given the drug AXA1125 were also able to go further than those given the placebo.

Scans also showed that the drug recipient’s mitochondria — the “electricity generators” in cells — were more likely to be in better health. However, this result was not statistically significant.

Associate Professor Betty Raman, the study’s principal investigator, said: “The reduction in patient reports of fatigue is really positive news and we hope that further work will help us understand the underlying processes behind this improvement.

“There is still a long way to go in treating all patients with long Covid.

“Our findings specifically focus on fatigue rather than the shortness of breath and cardiovascular issues that other long-term Covid patients have reported.”

Disrupted sleep may partially explain the common long-term Covid complication of shortness of breath, according to a British study.

Researchers discovered that restless sleep in patients hospitalized with Covid-19 is likely a cause of shortness of breath, also known as dyspnoea.

The study, involving patients in 38 hospitals across the UK, was led by scientists from the University of Manchester and the University of Leicester.

The research team found that 62 percent of the participants who had been hospitalized for Covid had trouble sleeping that was likely to last at least 12 months.

The results highlight for the first time the link between two post-Covid symptoms: shortness of breath and trouble sleeping.

A new variant of Covid called Arcturus, which is leading to a surge of new cases in India, appears to be having some unique symptoms in children, experts have pointed out.

The XBB.1.16 strain, a subvariant of Omicron, has been found in 22 countries including Singapore, Australia, the UK and the US.

India recorded 11,109 new cases on Friday, the country’s health ministry said, a sharp rise from 7,830 new Covid cases reported in the past 24 hours. The reported numbers are the highest in eight months, with the active caseload rising to 49,622.

The spread of the strain, first spotted in late January, is worrying experts because it appears to be showing unique symptoms in children, one of which is conjunctivitis.

The city recorded 1,396 Covid cases as of Saturday, according to the Delhi Health Department. The highest numbers in 15 months, The time of India reports a positivity rate of 31.9%.

India recorded 11,109 new cases on Friday, the country’s health ministry said, a sharp rise from 7,830 new Covid cases reported in the past 24 hours. The reported numbers are the highest in eight months, with the active caseload rising to 49,622.

People aged 75 and over or those with a weakened immune system can now book their spring Covid vaccine.

NHS England has urged those eligible to make an appointment via the NHS app, online or by calling 119.